Claude Bourbon: Medieval And Spanish Blues (Claude Bourbon)

Bourbon had a smoky, interesting voice with more than a hint of JJ Cale, and his delivery had a pleasing take-it-or-leave-it quality. It’s not that he wasn’t pleased to see his attentive audience but most of them were there for the guitar! Part of Bourbon’s signature sound was to loop the end of phrases softly, echoing them over the next few bars of music but you can have too much of a good thing; it happened in every piece and without variation. He improvised on various musical styles and quoted directly from pieces including ‘Fleur De Lis’, ‘Ne Me Quitte Pas’, ‘Rodriguez Guitar Concerto’ and ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’, which injected the unexpected into this pleasantly individual hour of blues.